Competencies for e-resource librarians redux: What do they look like in 2017?

Abstract

NASIG published the Core Competencies for E-Resources Librarians in July 2013 after a thorough examination of the qualifications for the position desired by employers and descriptions of e-resources librarian (ERL) jobs as they existed in 2011 and 2012. At the time, the core competencies required of an ERL included some or all of the following: knowledge about the e-resources life-cycle, technology, and research and assessment; effective communication; supervisory and management abilities; currency with trends in relevant fields of knowledge; and a particular set of personal qualities.Given the rapid pace with which the technology used to manage e-resources changes, after five years do the Core Competencies for E-Resources Librarians need revisions? The research presented here aims to answer this question by examining the results of a content analysis of the qualifications sought by ERL employers in job advertisements published in 2016 and comparing them with the qualifications sought by ERL employers in job advertisements published in 2009–2010.